The Field Center Faculty Directors, in collaboration with Former Faculty Director and colleague Dr. Antonio Garcia (now at University of Kentucky College of Social Work) and Stacey Carlough (Penn Graduate School of Education), have just published a paper on the need for cross-disciplinary education in the Journal of Social Work Education. Interprofessional Education (IPE) is critical to the development of an effective child welfare system. IPE allows practitioners or students from multiple professions to learn with, from, and about each other, to improve collaboration and quality of client or consumer care. With limited applications of this methodology in practice, this article contributes a curriculum template that can impact future learners. We invite you to learn more by reading the abridged abstract below or accessing the full paper HERE.

For more information, see the Publications and Presentations section below or email the Field Center.

The Field Center extends its deepest gratitude and sincerest well-wishes to our Director of Development, Hannah Rawdin, who recently accepted a new position as the Major Gift Officer for the Cardiac Unit at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. After five years with the Institutional Advancement team at the School of Social Policy and Practice and directly supporting the work of the Field Center, Hannah transitioned out of her role at the end of last month. Hannah was instrumental in securing funding for The Field Center’s critical work, including advancing our agenda of implementing and evaluating Dr. Johanna Greeson’s natural mentoring intervention for older youth aging out of foster care, Caring Adults ‘R’ Everywhere (C.A.R.E.), and providing cutting-edge virtual trainings through the “Foster Care to College” initiative. The entire Field Center team wishes Hannah the best of luck in her new role! We sure will miss her!

Through the Multidisciplinary Student Training Institute, The Field Center provides research, internship and field placement opportunities for selected students across multiple disciplines. Students receive training, career mentorship, and hands-on work experience within the field of child welfare. Meet our 2022-2023 MSW intern here:

Em Brandon is an Advanced Standing MSW student at the University of Pennsylvania with a Macro Practice concentration. She joined the Field Center in July of 2022. Em completed her BSW in 2020 at the Grace Abbott School of Social Work at the University of Nebraska. After earning her BSW, Em worked for a Child Advocacy Center in Omaha where she served non-offending caregivers of abuse victims. Em is excited to begin working on the macro level to help further systemic change to promote the complete well-being of children and families. Read Emily’s full bio on our website here.

Managing Faculty Director Johanna Greeson presented a collaborative learning session on “Caring Adults ‘R’ Everywhere” (C.A.R.E.) for the Lewin Group and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Faculty Director Dr. Cindy Christian was part of the planning committee for INTERCAP: The International Child Abuse Pediatrics Course in Berlin, Germany, where she led panels, daily small group sessions, and gave 2 lectures titled “The Future of Child Abuse Pediatrics” and “Protecting Children in the Age of Alternative Facts”.

Faculty Director Caroline Watts spoke as a panelist at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education’s discussion titled “Conversation about Responding to Gun Violence”.

Garcia, A., Watts, C.L., Carlough, S., Christian, C.W., Finck, K.R., Jaffee, S.R., Greeson, J.K.P., & Connolly, C. (2022). A Template for Implementing Interprofessional Education in Child Advocacy. Journal of Social Work Education, 1-20.

Raj, A., Molnar, J., Surya, S., DiGirolamo, S., Christian, C.W., Lavelle, J.M., & Wood, J.N. (2022). Characterizing Multiple Perpetrator Sexual Assaults in the Adolescent Female Population. Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology.

Khan, A.N., & Jaffee, S.R. (2022). Alexithymia in individuals maltreated as children and adolescents: a meta‐analysis. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry.

Weeland, J., Brummelman, E., Jaffee, S.R., Chhangur, R.R., Van der Giessen, D., Matthys, W., Oriobio de Castro, B., & Overbeek, G. (2022). Does caregivers’ use of praise reduce children’s externalizing behavior? A longitudinal observational test in the context of a parenting program. Developmental psychology 58(7), 1371-1385.

Hopkins, M., Finck, K., Andino, A., Christopher, B., Price, D., Simpson, A., & Watson, I. (2022). Youth and Families Matter: Reconstructing the System One Youth at a Time from the Expertise of Youth Advocates. Columbia Journal of Race and Law, 12(1).

Finck, K. Presumed Unfit: The Dual Bind Faced by Pregnant and Parenting Youth in Foster Care (2022). American University Law Review, 71.